


Tol and Smol

by AgreedEquation



Category: Cricket RPF
Genre: Domestic Fluff, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-03-28
Updated: 2016-03-28
Packaged: 2018-05-29 17:03:42
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,302
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6384916
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AgreedEquation/pseuds/AgreedEquation
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A quiet little day in the life of Finny and Titch.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Tol and Smol

“We should get out of bed.” James was lying on top of Steve, his chin resting on Steve’s chest and his feet _almost_ reaching the other man’s ankles. Steve had his arms wrapped around James, his hands resting on his lower back. “Have breakfast.” He kissed the tip of Steve’s chin. “And you should shave.”

Steve hummed in response and tightened his grip on his boyfriend. “Or we can stay in bed for the rest of the day.” They had the entire day off which was quite a rarity in their lives and he wanted to make the best of it. He moved his hands downward and gave James’ bum a squeeze. “Lay around, have some fun. Be lazy.”

James smiled and rolled off of Steve. He lay on his side, face to face with the other man. “It’s a nice day, we could go for a walk and have a picnic somewhere.” There wasn’t a lazy bone in his body so doing nothing all day long was out of the question. “Or cook. It’s been a long time since we took the time to cook.” Neither of them were particularly good cooks, but it would be fun if they did it together.

“Or we could stay in bed all day.” Steve did have some lazy bones. He worked hard on his game, but when he could, he liked to relax for a bit. Lay in bed or on the sofa, just do nothing.

“Won’t you get lonely when I leave?” James asked.

“I’m not going to let you.” Steve reversed the position they had been in only moments ago. He lay down on top of James, his body easily covering James’. The only part of James that could be seen was his head and a foot sticking out from underneath Steve.

James managed to wriggle his arm from between their bodies and rested it on Steve’s back. “This isn’t fair, you giant.” He tried to push Steve away, but the other man was clinging to him and had no intention of letting him go. “Okay, I’ll make you a deal,” he started, their cheeks pressed together. “We get out of bed now, have breakfast, make ourselves presentable, go grocery shopping, cook up a nice meal, eat it and then we can watch Les Misérables.”

Steve leaned on his elbows, lifting his upper body. “With a blanket on the sofa?” he asked, his smile broadening at the mention of Les Misérables.

“Sure.” James nodded and wrapped his arms around Steve’s neck. “So do we have a deal?” he asked, his thumb stroking the little hairs on the back of Steve’s neck.

Steve lowered his head, so his lips were hovering just above James’. “Deal,” he said and closed the gap between their mouths.

-

In the end they decided to prepare some spaghetti bolognaise and a blackberry crumb cake. James quickly looked up the recipe for the cake and printed it so they could take it to the grocery store with them. They didn’t bother driving, as the store was only a ten-minute walk from their house.

“Are you sure about the cake?” Steve asked when he read through the ingredients list. “I never knew so much stuff went into a cake.” He was going to prepare the spaghetti because it was a safe option and he knew he could pull it off.

“The website is called Real Simple, I think we will manage,” James answered, snatching the list from his boyfriend. “Get us a shopping trolley, will you?” he said, looking through the list once more; it didn’t look that difficult, did it? He was never going to win The Great British Bake Off, but he wasn’t _that_ hopeless in the kitchen. No matter what Jonny Bairstow claimed.

Steve ruffled James’ hair with his hand. “No need to get so bossy.” He took a few long strides towards the trolleys and put a pound into the lock then pulled the trolley towards him. “Come on, let’s get these ingredients. I’m sure you’ll make a delicious cake.” He put his arm around James’ shoulder and pulled him into a sideway hug for a second.

They walked through the sliding door, into the store. “Okay, so we’ve got sugar, butter, salt, eggs and milk at home. That leaves the flour, vanilla extract, blackberries, baking powder, cinnamon and pecans,” James said, ticking off the ingredients on his list that they didn’t need to buy. “Oh and we need spaghetti too. And minced beef for the sauce.”

“And snacks,” Steve added, pushing the trolley in front of him towards the fruit and vegetable section. “If we’re going to watch Les Mis, then I want snacks. And we need wine too. Spag bol needs a nice red wine.”

James looked up at Steve. They were going to leave with so much more than they needed, as they usually did when they went grocery shopping together. He didn’t have a problem with sticking to his list, but Steve often saw things they didn’t really need, but wanted anyway. “How you manage to stay so skinny while eating all that junk food beats me.”

Steve shrugged his shoulders in response. “Fast metabolism?” he reached out for some blackberries. “They’ve got a package with 150 grams and one with 300 grams. How much do we need?”

James looked at the recipe. “A pound,” he answered. “That’s about 500 grams, right?” he asked, a bit hesitant. He wasn’t too great on conversions. “Let’s take two of 300 grams.”

“Okidoki,” Steve took two of the larger packages off the shelf and put them in their trolley. “What’s next?” he asked, bending down so he could see the list better. “Let’s find the baking goods aisle.” 

-

Steve lazily looked through all the different kinds of pudding in the dairy section of the store. If he had his own way, he’d have one of each flavour, but James wouldn’t let him. “What do you think? Vanilla, chocolate or caramel?” he asked, turning towards his boyfriend.

“I don’t care, just pick one. I’m freezing here.” They were more or less surrounded by fridges and James didn’t like it one bit. He was one of those people that were cold all the time. Steve was the complete opposite. His hands and feet were always warm, no matter how cold it got.

Steve unzipped his jacked and took it off. “Here, take this.” He helped James into it and zipped it up. “Better?”

The jacket was a couple of sizes too big, so James’ hands were lost somewhere inside the sleeves. Steve rolled them up until he could see James’ hands again, smiling at the sight.

James nodded. “Thanks.” He knew he looked ridiculous in the jacket, but he didn’t care. It was Steve’s way of taking care of him and that thought warmed him up just as much as the jacket did.

-

They slowly made their way through the rest of store, Steve occasionally dropping goods into their trolley, until they had all but one item from their list: cinnamon.

“We should ask someone where we can find it,” James said after going through the last aisle. He looked around and spotted an employee. “Excuse me?” he stood next to the man and sent him a polite smile. “Could you help us find some cinnamon?”

“Of course, follow me.” The man made a gesture with his hand and started walking. He glanced at their trolley and smiled. “Cake?” he asked.

“Blackberry crumb cake,” James replied. “At least if we can pull it off. We’re not the best of cooks,” he added, following the man.

“I’m sure you’ll do fine.” The man stopped walking and pointed at the shelf in front of them. “There we go. I’m guessing you want the ground cinnamon and not the sticks?”

James nodded. “Yes. Thank you, for your help.”

“Anytime. Have a nice day.” The employee gave them a small wave and walked away again.

“Can you get that jar?” James asked, looking up at the jar with the orange cap. He suspected that was the one they needed, but it was standing on the top shelf, which was too high for him to see or reach.

Steve smirked, a playful twinkle appearing in his eyes. “Why? Can’t reach it?” he took a step closer to James so he was standing behind him and looked at the jar. He could easily reach out for it. “Need some help, Titch?” he put his hands underneath James’ arms and picked him up. “Better?”

“I hate you so much right now,” James replied, crossing his arms in front of his chest. “Put me down.”

“At least get the cinnamon,” Steve replied, refusing to put the other man back on his feet. “Come on.” He lifted James even higher so he was now facing the cinnamon jar directly. “Take it.”

James sighed and took the cinnamon off the shelf. “I’m going to make you pay for this.”

Steve put James back down and patted his shoulder. “Consider me warned,” he said, still smiling brightly. “Come on, let’s go pay. I’m getting hungry.” He hooked his arm around James’ and used his free hand to push the trolley.

“Still hate you,” James grumbled, but edged a bit closer to Steve anyway.

-

Steve put his hand in the jar of candies that was standing next to the register and fished out a red love heart. “Oooh, cherry flavour, my favourite.” He popped the piece of candy into his mouth, smiling.

James really wanted to say something about how those candies were meant for kids, but he wanted one too, if he was completely honest with himself. Only, he was too embarrassed to take one.

“Here, you like the lemon flavoured ones the most, right?” Steve asked, taking one of the yellow love hearts from the jar. He read the words on it and burst out into laughter. “Big boy,” he said between giggles as he offered the candy to James. “I swear I didn’t do that on purpose. I just wanted to get you a yellow one.”

“I don’t have to be tall to be a big boy,” James replied as he took the heart from Steve. “If you know what I mean.” His cheeks coloured bright red when he heard the cashier cough.

That only made Steve laugh harder.

-

“Is that why you’re making me carry all these bags?” James asked, nodding his head at the phone in Steve’s hands. “So you can text your mates?”

“You’re a strong man, just look at your arms. All those muscles are demanding to be used. You can handle a couple of bags.”

“Watch out for that-” James cringed when he saw Steve’s head collide with the traffic sign. “Oh God, Steve. Are you okay?”

A little bit of blood trickled down Steve’s forehead. He lifted his hand and touched the spot on his head that had hit the sign, wincing. “Ow.” He looked at his fingers, feeling a bit sick when he saw the blood. “I’m bleeding.”

“I can see that,” James replied, looking up at his boyfriend. “Let’s go home so I can patch you up.” He hooked his arm around Steve’s as they started walking again.

Once they were back home, James ditched their groceries and led Steve to the living room. The bleeding had already stopped and it was clear that it was just a small cut, but James was worried anyway. “Sit down. I’ll get the first aid kit.”

Steve did as he was told and sat down on their sofa.

“You’re such a klutz,” James said as he re-entered the living room. “You’re always making fun of me for being so short, but at least I don’t bump into _street signs_. No one does that.”

“I was texting, I never saw it coming. It could have happened to anyone.”

“Most people aren’t tall enough to actually hit the sign with their head. They bump into the pole.” James put the first aid kit down on the sofa and straddled Steve’s lap. “Let’s have a look.” He gently stroked back Steve’s hair to take a proper look at the wound. “Hmm, it’s just a small cut.” He reached out for the first aid kit, opened it and took out one of the sterile bandages. He used the bandage to wipe the blood off Steve’s forehead. “This might sting a bit.”

Steve put his hand on top of James’ when he reached out for the ointment. “No need for that, I’ll be fine.”

“Don’t be a baby. It’ll sting for just a second. You don’t want the wound to get infected, do you?” James replied, pulling his hand from Steve’s grip. “And it’ll heal faster.” He took the cap off the tube and squeezed some of its contents on the tip of his index finger.

“Be careful, okay?”

James smiled and pressed a quick kiss against the corner of Steve’s mouth. “Always.” He gently put the ointment on the cut, resting his free hand on Steve’s cheek. “There we go.” He wiped his finger on his pants and screwed the cap back onto the tube. “I can’t put a band aid on it because most of the cut is covered by your hair.”

“Thank you.” Steve wrapped his arms around James’ neck and pulled him closer.

James nuzzled his nose against Steve’s neck and got into a more comfortable position in his lap. “My clumsy giraffe.”

-

While Steve prepared his famous spaghetti bolognaise, James started working on the batter for the cake. He closely followed the recipe, carefully measuring everything he added to the batter so he got all the quantities right. When he was done with it, he put it in a pan and started working on the crumb topping.

“Spaghetti’s almost done,” Steve announced as he took a peek inside the pot. “How is your cake coming along?” he asked, taking a step closer to James.

“So far so good,” James said. He dipped his finger into the batter and smeared it on Steve’s nose. “Oops.” He sent Steve an innocent smile. “I was going for your lips, but your nose got in the way.”

One of the most annoying things about being short, according to James, was that he couldn’t kiss Steve whenever he wanted. He had to wait for Steve to bend down because no matter how much he tried, Steve’s lips would be out of his reach. This time, though, he had come prepared. While Steve had been working on the spaghetti, James had taken the step stool they kept in the corner of the kitchen (James kept it there, if Steve stood on it, the top of his head would touch the ceiling). “Hey there.” He stepped onto the stool, his face finally at the same level as Steve’s. “Let me help you get that off your nose.” He wiped his thumb over the tip of Steve’s nose, removing the smudge of cake batter.

“Did you get it all?” Steve asked, his eyes crossing as he tried to look at his own nose.

“No. Your nose is too huge for my tiny fingers,” James joked and stuck his tongue out at his boyfriend. He rested his hands on Steve’s shoulders, a dopey smile playing on his lips. Without waiting for Steve to dip his head down as he usually did, he pressed his lips against the other man’s for a long, deep kiss.

-

“Bon appétit,” Steve said with a terrible accent as he placed a steaming hot plate of his spaghetti bolognaise in front of James. “I added my special ingredient to it, so it’ll be the best you’ve ever had.”

James picked up his fork and spoon. “What’s the secret ingredient?” he asked, a small smile already playing on his lips because he knew what the answer was going to be.

“Love.” Steve would make this cheesy joke almost every time he cooked for James. “That and I think I may have dropped a booger in there, sorry.”

James looked at the spaghetti, scrunching his nose. “That’s gross.” He inspected the food in front of him for small, green boogers.

Steve laughed and shook his head. “I’m just joking, Titch. No boogers, just love.” He took his own plate and sat down opposite of James. “I promise.”

-

“Why does your cake look all weird?” Steve asked, poking the cake with a fork. It had completely fallen apart and looked rather pathetic if he was honest.

“I forgot to grease the pan and the cake stuck to it. I did my best to get it out,” James explained and bit his lower lip. “I’m sorry that I wasted our time on this.” He sighed deeply as he looked at the cake. “Come on, let’s go watch Les Misérables,” he said, taking Steve’s hand in his. “We can deal with the cake later. We’ll throw it away. Birds might like it.”

Steve didn’t move an inch. “No. We can still eat it,” he told James, picking up the plate with the cake. “I’m sure it tastes nice. You put a lot of work in it, we’re not throwing it away.” He really didn’t care much about the cake, but James did. James had tried his best to pull it off and yet he still failed. Steve would be a bad boyfriend if he didn’t at least try to change the situation. “Come on, take the plate and a fork. We can eat it while we’re watching the movie.”

“You don’t have to do that,” James said, shaking his head. He knew Steve was just trying to cheer him up. “Get those snacks you bought, they’ll be nicer than that pathetic thing I made.”

Steve took a fork out of the drawer and picked up the plate with the cake. “They’re not.” To prove his point, he dug the fork into the pile of cake and scooped up a small piece of it. “I’m not lying, this is actually really good,” he said and went for another piece. The cake _was_ good, despite the fact that it looked like a pile of large crumbs, mixed with some blackberries. “Try some,” he said, holding a piece of the cake in front of James’ mouth. “Come on.”

James obliged and opened his mouth for Steve to feed him some of the cake. “Okay, it’s not bad,” he agreed with a nod.

-

James carefully lifted his hand to turn off the television with the remote control.

Steve cracked an eye open. “Why did you turn off the tv? The movie wasn’t done yet.” he looked up at James, pouting.

“You were sleeping.”

“I was resting my eyes,” Steve replied. He took James’ hand in his and lifted it so the remote control was pointed at the television again. “Put it back on. I was listening to the songs.”

James dropped the remote control on the sofa, shaking his head. “I’ve got another idea,” he said and pushed Steve’s head off his lap so he could reposition himself. “How about.” He straddled Steve’s hips and bent down to press his lips against Steve’s neck. “We have some other kind of fun.” He peppered Steve’s neck and jaw with kisses while he snuck his hands underneath Steve’s shirt.

Steve giggled at the tickling sensation the kisses caused. “Stop, you know my neck is ticklish.”

Steve wanted to push James away, but got his coordination all wrong. So instead he pushed the air, almost tumbling off the sofa. “Tiiiiiitch.” His laughter turned into a gasp when instead of kissing Steve’s neck, James bit down. “Ow. Never knew Les Mis turned you on like that,” he said when James pulled back a bit. “Is it Enjolras?”

“Shut up.” James bent down again, covering Steve’s lips with his own.


End file.
